TONBRIDGE ANGELS 0 MAIDSTONE UNITED 1

By Tom Rogers

A Tom Leahy screamer saw Maidstone snatch all three points at Longmead in a smash and grab for the ages. In a game where the Stones were forced to soak up pressure for long periods, they made the most of their only chance on the break and punished Tonbridge’s wastefulness in front of goal. It is now five wins on the bounce as we sit top of the table.

The kick-off was marked by an unusual pyrotechnics display from the home end. Flashing blue smoke bombs were released from deep underneath the stand behind the goal housing Angels fans. The cloud of blue smog it produced seemed to choke out many of the home support, who pushed away from the affected area, leaving a massive gap in the stand. In future, it is generally a good idea not to let off flares underneath a roof because you’ll be trapped in a blue haze that never clears. And it’s hardly a vote of confidence to let off all your smoke bombs at kick-off, rather than wait for a goal anyway.

The hosts were the better side in the first half. Former Stones Jephte Tanga and Lamar Reynolds were constant threats out wide, looking dangerous but failing to convert their dominance into anything tangible: something every Maidstone fan has seen numerous times before.

The Angels had two golden opportunities. In the fortieth minute, sustained home pressure looked to come to a head, with the lively Ricky Korboa slotting through Frankie Baker, who had his initial effort well saved by Lenny Holden before tapping home the rebound. The linesman’s flag came to our rescue: Baker looked a fraction off.

Our hosts came close again, this time through Reynolds. Baker excellently controlled a Corne long ball, lofting it over the top of the Maidstone backline to find Reynolds in on goal. The ex-Stone controlled well but was unable to replicate his chipped finish at Ipswich and was denied by the chest of Lenny Holden as the half came to an end.

As the teams emerged for the second half, Nathan Harness was forced into the walk of shame as he defended the goal in front of the away end. He took the ‘warm’ welcome in good humour to be fair to him. He’s the only one there worthy of any sympathy. Can you imagine the horror of being assaulted at work, only to be let go from that job the week after, and end up pretending to be mates with the arsehole who assaulted you for a photo your social media team insists is a great idea?

The second half was less one-way traffic, more two similarly matched sides cancelling each other out, with neither able to produce a clear chance for the bulk of it. With just over ten minutes to spare, Holden confidently claimed an Akehurst corner. He threw it to Leone Gravata, who drifted past Corne as if he wasn’t there, before finding Tom Leahy on the edge of the area. In truth it was a half chance. The angle was tight, he was under pressure and his effort had to be perfect. It was.

Leahy curled the ball into the top left corner, leaving Harness with no chance and sending almost all of the travelling Maidstone support wild. The only exception to those engulfed in ecstasy was the mother who’d brought her two small children in front of me, shielding them and looking on in horror as if she was trapped in a scene from Planet of the Apes as eight hundred blokes threw themselves towards the delirious Leahy.

As space opened up, Maidstone found a few more half chances. Court found Leahy with a cross-field ball as the clock ticked to the ninetieth minute. His powerful effort rattled the top of Harnesses crossbar as he came close to completing a spectacular brace.

There was time for the hosts to miss two big chances in stoppage time. Substitute Alfie Pavey put a good ball over the top which was brought down well by Ethan Sutcliffe who saw his looping effort sail over the bar.

The final arse-clenching moment came in the dying seconds when Akehurst swung in a final corner. Another good delivery found the head of Pavey, who had a great chance to snatch a point but put his effort high and wide. It wasn’t a surprise he, of all people, missed. He even missed the chance to sign off his pre-match taunt at Oliver Ash with ‘See you next Tuesday’ instead going with ‘See you Tuesday’. He’s left the tweet up, despite it spectacularly backfiring.

I struggle to think of a more satisfying win we’ve had in recent years outside of the cup run and Eastbourne in the play-offs. Tonbridge have done an unbelievable job from top down of making us loathe them over the last eighteen months. They have successfully managed to make this the rivalry they always craved.

They seem to exist in a bizarre dual reality. On the one hand they claim to be a serious player in this league now, while, on the other, they still believe they are a humble, fan-owned, part time club punching well above their weight and that a ‘juggernaut’ like Maidstone should be embarrassed we ever get drawn into a close game with them.

I’ll admit I laughed when I watched their post-match interview: I just couldn’t believe it when the interviewer uttered, ‘It shows how far Tonbridge have come as a club that we ran Maidstone so close tonight’. The inferiority complex is odd. They cannot genuinely see signing a few of our ex-players from a bang average squad last season and then nearly getting a point against us as a success? We are a marginally bigger fish in a pretty small pond. You’d think they’d narrowly lost to an EFL side in the cup judging by the post match reaction.

As for the rest of Alan Dunne’s comments: that is probably the most capable Tonbridge squad we’ve faced in recent years, so did they deserve a point? Maybe.

But did we deserve the abhorrent allegations levelled at us over the past eighteen month? Not a fucking chance. So, I guess these things even themselves out.